Seconds, Minutes, Hours
by Sammy-chan17
Summary: Uryū Ishida is a boy with an uncanny ability to see the future of whomever he comes into contact with. Orihime Inoue is a girl with the ability to turn back time and rewrite the past but she cannot, no matter how hard she tries, reverse death. A chance meeting sends them both on an inevitable path of romance, regret and ruination. AU. Cover by the amazing @redhairedhealer on IG!
1. The Boy Who Could See the Future

Chapter I: The Boy Who Could See the Future

~Sunday~

::Uryu's POV::

I hate this. I hate myself. I hate life.

I walk home, head down, afraid to look at anybody, scared to make physical contact. I grip the two grocery bags I'm carrying as if they were both holding me together, preventing me from falling apart right then and there. A young buxom woman rushes past, strawberry blonde hair whips behind her. She seems as if late for a meeting or such; she strikes me as the type to work in the business industry. But as she runs she bumps into me ever so slightly. It's enough, I know it. I curse inwardly, dropping the bags on the floor. I feel feverish, my head is burning. I must look like I'm dying but I don't care, I can't care. Not when I'm like this.

God dammit. It's becoming clear.

* * *

_She laughs, the woman who bumped into me that is, whacking the silver-haired man who was in front of her on one knee with the back of her hand in a playful manner, "Stop kidding around, Gin!"_

_He smiles, hand latching on a little box containing so much hope, "I'm not joking with you, Rangiku, We've spent all our life together as friends, why not spend the rest of it together as husband and wife?"_

_Her hands clap on to her mouth in sheer shock, "G-Gin..." she whispers, tears of joy forming in her eyes, "You're really not kidding..." she takes in a few deep breaths before she tackles him to the ground in happiness, "Of course! Of course! Of course!"_

_He wraps his arms around her and nestles his head in her hair, "I don't want to ever lose you. I love you."_

_"I love you too!"_

* * *

I hate this feeling, this feeling of interrupting someone else's private life. It's like discovering someone's secret, something you were never meant to see.

* * *

_She's walking down the aisle now, clad all in white and holding a bouquet of daffodils. She looks beautiful I admit. Her veil is covering her face and her long hair is tied up in a pretty bun with flowing ringlets._

_The silver-haired man (Gin was it?) smiles and looks at her as if she's the only woman in the world right now. Her loving blue eyes show a similar expression._

* * *

I'm panting, sweat dripping down my forehead. I can feel yet another vision coming on though.

* * *

_She's holding a baby girl now. A little boy, at least nine or ten years old, asks with curiosity, "Mommy, when is Daddy coming home?"_

_"Soon," she answers with a bright smile. The phone rings and she hands the baby gently to her son, "Can you hold her for Mommy please? I need to answer the phone."_

_He nods enthusiastically, "Okay!"_

_She walks quickly to the phone, in one swift motion she answers it and lifts it up to her ear, "Yes, this is Mrs. Ichimaru."_

_Her face quickly falls, "...What?! A car crash?! Please hold on a bit." her breathing falters, "I'll be there soon. T-Thank you."_

* * *

No, please don't. I already know what's going to happen. Please stop this!

* * *

_"Gin!" she cries over her husband, who was quickly slipping away._

_He lifts a weak hand to touch her face, his eyesight is blurring and her form is becoming a mass of colours with no outline, "Rangiku..." he says weakly._

_"Don't leave me please!" she sobs uncontrollably into his shoulder. "What about our family?!"_

_He silently strokes her smooth hair, after a long pregnant pause he answers with as much strength as he can muster, "I'm so sorry, Rangiku... I love you."_

_And with that he passes away, the heart monitor letting out a long 'bleep' to signify his heart had stopped. The sad thing was that he wasn't even able to stay long enough to hear his wife say, "I love you too."_

* * *

I double over in pain. Screaming in terror whilst gripping my head so tight I'm sure it's bleeding. I hate visions that end like this, they leave me with never-ending nightmares that make me wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweat.

Everyone's giving me looks. I ignore them all. They're all bastards, everyone of them!

A gentle man approaches man, "E-excuse me, sir?" he says, "A-are you alright?"

As soon as I feel him away to come closer, away to touch me. I wave my arm at him, making sure not to come into contact with him. He flinches but he doesn't move from his spot, "Get away from me!" I command.

He jumps, "Y-yes, of course! I-I'm sorry!" and then runs off in the opposite direction.

My breathing is ragged and uneven, my head is pounding. But soon enough I manage to stand straight again, so I pick up my bags and carry on walking, pretending nothing had happened.

I soon reach my apartment complex. Instead of walking up the stairs like I normally do, I choose to go up in the elevator. I know this will most likely end badly but I just don't have the effort to walk up all those flights of steps, that woman's vision took a heavy toll on me.

I press the elevator button, and then wait silently and patiently. The 'ding!' soon comes and I enter the elevator with of course, just my luck, an extremely large muscled man. I shift to corner of the small area but his shoulder still brushes against me.

* * *

_The large and muscular man is heavily injured, his body abound with cuts and bruises. A woman is tending to them; I can't help to notice the strange way she tied her hair, one neat plait placed underneath her chin._

_He grunts in thanks but she glares at him, and boy is her glare scary._

_She coughs, "Excuse me, Zaraki-san? After all the times we've been through this, you still refuse to say 'thank you'?"_

_He mutters under his breath before replying, "I'm sorry. Thank you, Unohana-san. Happy?"_

_"Extremely."_

_I shake my head, trying to get rid of the visions. I'd rather not have a break down in an elevator with a guy who looks like he could kill me just by placing a hand on my shoulder and pushing down with force._

_"She's a cutie." the man says quietly staring down at what I presume is his new daughter, "Can I hold her?"_

_His wife, who just so happens to be the doctor from earlier gives him a smile, handing him their child, "Of course."_

_"She's so tiny..." he observes._

_"What should we name her?" she asks._

_He ponders for a moment, "Yachiru. Yachiru Zaraki will be her name."_

_She nods tiredly, but is definitely content with the name, "Yachiru Zaraki... Our beautiful little bundle of joy..."_

* * *

How timely, I'm back but panting just as soon as the elevator dings. I swiftly exit and walk down the corridor. As soon as I'm inside my apartment I let out a deep sigh, dropping the bags on the floor, coming my hair back with my hand and collapsing against the door.

I can't live like this anymore. I want to be normal, I want to live life unhaunted and carefree, I want to be able to sleep at night, I want to be able to see someone move their hand without flinching, I just want to be an average seventeen year old boy. Why is that so difficult?!

It must have been forever before I dared move from my spot against the door, getting up numbly I start to retreat to put all the groceries away when I hear frantic knocking on my door. Kurosaki. I know it is.

I open the door and there he stood, the arrogant orange haired bastard I happen to call my classmate/rival/fellow-man/maybe friend? "What do you want, Kurosaki?"

"Ishida!" he calls, placing his hands on my shoulders and shaking me slightly, "I need your help!"

And here we go again.

* * *

_"Get down!" the man yells, he's holding a gun and is all clad in black. Oh and don't forget the balaclava. Typical robber._

_Kurosaki steps up to face the man, "Put the gun down,"_

_"Outta the way, kid!" the man lifts his gun so it's pointing directly at Kurosaki._

_"I said, put the gun down. Now!" Kurosaki tells the man once again._

_The man makes a move to pull the trigger when a petite girl jumps in front of Kurosaki._

_BANG!_

_The girl falls to the ground in a heap. Kurosaki, in a fit of anger, knocks the man out with a punch and then a kick, "You bastard!_

_"Dummy," the girl says quietly to Kurosaki as he gets down on his knees in front of her._

_He takes his t-shirt off and the girl coughs awkwardly, "I could say the same to you." he replies._

_Red trickles up the girl's cheeks as she asks, "What on earth are you doing?!"_

_He rips a part of his shirt off and just as she begins to think that he's just going to ignore her, he answers, "Stopping your wound from bleeding, Stupid. The bullet's lodged pretty deep in your shoulder actually."_

_She scoffs, "Hmph. And why exactly should I trust you?"_

_"Well, considering you already saved me from getting shot I can safely assume you already do trust me."_

_"...Fine."_

* * *

I've seen the vision countless of times...

* * *

_The girl is quiet now, probably feeling the ripping pain of the bullet._

_Kurosaki is equally quiet as he carries the girl, focusing on making it to his father's clinic as quickly as he can._

_She grimaces, "Ugh,"_

_He looks down at her, worriedly, "Are you okay?"_

_"No." she deadpans, as she, much to her chagrin, snuggles into Kurosaki._

_"We're almost there," he reassures, "My house isn't too far now."_

_"Shouldn't... you be taking me to a hospital...?" she asks weakly._

_He smiles slightly, "It'll make more sense when we arrive, okay?"_

_"Okay..."_

* * *

"Ishida? What's wrong?" Kurosaki asks, shaking me harder than before.

"Stop touching me!" I snarl, turning away from the orange haired bastard.

Kurosaki removed his hands from my shoulders and let them fall to his sides, "Oh, sorry. I forgot, you don't like being touched do you?"

"No, I do not."

"So uh, yeah," he scratches the back of his head sheepishly before taking my sleeve and dragging me out the door, "Come on!"

"For heaven's sake, Kurosaki. Will you stop touching me?!"

He grins, "I'm holding your sleeve, so ha!"

I sigh, shaking my head. Stupid idiot.

**A.N: Thank you for reading this first chapter, I deeply appreciate it. Some of the characters may seem a little OOC, I think Ichigo is probably one of those as he is pretty relaxed and open already but meh. I hope you don't mind ^_^ I guess it'll hopefully make sense as the story progresses.**

**Constructive criticism is appreciated. I apologise if anything is in the wrong tense. I wrote this first in past tense but decided against it.**

**~Sammy-chan17**


	2. The Girl Who Could Change the Past

Chapter II: The Girl Who Could Change the Past

~Monday~

::Orihime's POV::

My eyes flutter open, revealing my bedroom which is slowly filling with warm, golden sunlight. Yes, it's my first day at Karakura High today. To say I'm not nervous would be a lie but I'm excited nonetheless. Change can be good sometimes.

I push myself up, yawning widely. I turn my head to the side, checking the neon pink clock that rests on my bedside. It reads half past eight... Half past eight?! Sugar bunnies! I'm going to be late! I quickly hop to my feet and run to the bathroom. In a rush, I use one hand to brush my teeth and the other to roughly tug at my auburn locks with my hairbrush.

I really need to start remembering to set my alarm clock before I go to bed... I don't want to get into trouble at school for being late, especially since I'm a new student! ...Maybe I should go back and set my alarm last night? I don't really want to... But if it means making a good impression today then I really should...

I grab the blue flower hair clips that rested on the counter next to me, Onii-chan gave me them to me when I was a little girl. I take a deep breath and squeeze my eyes tightly shut. Let's do this.

I check my clock, it's quarter to eleven at night. It worked. Well, I never doubted it wouldn't work. I mean, I've done it enough times to know. Yeah, I have the ability to reverse time. I don't understand it myself either but that's just the way it's always been so I just have to deal with it. Sometimes I wish I was just a normal girl, but maybe there's other people out there just like me! Who knows?

Anyway, the point was to set my alarm clock so that's what I'm going to do! I pick up my clock and fiddle with the switches until I finally manage to set my clock at eight am. Mm, I really am quite sleepy now so I guess I should go to bed... After all, it is the first day of school tomorrow.

I collapse softly down onto my bed, get underneath the covers and soon I'm out like a light.

"Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep..."

I slap my hand down onto my clock, shutting it up. I hate the sound of the alarm, it's awful. I check the time with a sigh. I actually woke at a decent time today, all thanks to the alarm I set last night! I get out of bed a little more slowly this time, I don't have to rush anymore.

I go through to the bathroom and throw off my peppermint green pajamas -they have adorable little penguins on them!- and step into the shower, feeling the hot, steaming liquid run down my back smoothly.

"Aah, so nice..."

After at least ten minutes, I step out and grab a pastel pink towel from the radiator and wrap it around myself. It's so warm... Walking over to the sink, I take out my toothbrush and toothpaste and proceed then to brush my teeth whilst humming a happy little tune.

I soon finish and then walk back to my bedroom with a slight skip in my step.

"And nothing will keep this heart from beating, I'm still breathing~!" I sing chirpily, hopping over to my wardrobe.

Underwear and... yes! My new school uniform! I pluck everything I need out and lay them all on my bed. I get changed into my clothes and afterwards, I look at myself in the mirror and do a twirl, showing off my clothes. My uniform consists of a white shirt tucked into a grey skirt, topped off with a grey jacket and red bow. It's really pretty actually. I think I love it! I grin cheerily and grab my school bag, just a plain old thing with no pretty designs or anything instead, I've attached all sorts of badges onto it though (from band badges to random things like, "I mustache you a question but I'll shave it for later!") and I head to the entrance way where I slip into my brown school shoes. I rush out the door and begin my journey to school.

Such a bright day! But I really wouldn't expect any less, it is August after all! I really can't decide which season is my favourite... but I do love summer! I used to go to the beach with my best friend, Tatsuki-chan, all the time! She lives in Tokyo though so I guess we can't anymore... Before I moved to Karakura Town I lived in Tokyo with Tatsuki-chan and her family. They were all so kind to let me stay with them after I got kicked out of my apartment because I couldn't pay rent... It's all good now though! My auntie (she's really a family friend) returned from the UK a little while ago so now I get to live with her and her nephew and niece.

My auntie, Rangiku-san, is really nice and loves to joke and have loads of fun so it's never dull with her there! She works as a fashion designer and often has to go away on business trips. She left yesterday for New York, I think she was a little bit late but I'm pretty sure she got to the airport just in time. It's a little bit weird when she isn't at home but I guess I shouldn't complain when I have Tōshirō-kun and Momo-chan to keep me company.

Tōshirō-kun doesn't like to talk to me very much but he does care for me. I think he's pretty sweet. He's fourteen years old and enjoys playing football. He goes to a private school. I think he has a girlfriend but whenever I ask he get's all defensive. He starts blushing and spluttering, it's really funny and cute. His girlfriend's (or whatever she is to him) came over a few times recently. I like her. She's the perfect match for Tōshirō-kun.

Momo-chan on the other hand is always happy to chat with me and help me when I need it. She's really kind. She often hangs out with her friends: Kuchiki-san, Abarai-kun, Kira-kun and Hisagi-kun. They all seem very close. She also goes to the same private school as Tōshirō-kun. Momo-chan is Tōshirō-kun's older sister by a year but they're not related by blood. Rangiku-san's mother adopted them both as her grandchildren. She passed away a couple years ago, Tōshirō-kun seems to be the most affected in my opinion, something tells me they were extremely close.

Overall, the three of them make an upbeat and cheery family that I'm happy to be a part of! Ah, I can see the school now! It's a little bit smaller than the school I went to in Tokyo but I expected that. To be honest, I'm elated at that fact. My old school was a prestigious academy for girls. I'm a bit anxious to be learning with boys actually. I'm sure it'll be fine though.

I quickly turn around a corner, eager to finally arrive at school when- Eep!

"I am so sorry!" I say rubbing my head painfully. Due to my stupidity, as soon as I went round the corner I collided into another person and sent us tumbling to the ground.

The guy who I bumped into looks at me with wide eyes, "I-Impossible..." I hear him murmur ever so quietly.

I tilt my head in confusion, "What's impossible?"

"Ah..." he turns his head, "It's nothing."

How peculiar... I wonder what he meant...

He coughs awkwardly, breaking my train of thought, "Will you... ehem, please get off of me?"

I look down at the position we're in. I'm sitting on his stomach, straddling him you might say, with my uh... chest pretty close to his face.

"Ack! I'm sorry!" I reply, quickly getting off of the dark haired stranger.

He blushes ever so slightly but then turns away, "Ishida Uryū,"

"Eh?"

He starts walking forward, "Ishida Uryū, Class 2A."

Realizing what he was saying I run to catch up with him, "Oh, I'm Inoue Orihime!"

"You're the new girl, hm? I can walk with you to the office if you wish." Ishida-kun offers, turning towards me and giving me a small, barely existent smile.

I nod thankfully, "That would be really nice."

"Uryū-chan!" a beautiful, teal haired lady in her late twenties squeals upon seeing Ishida-kun and I approach.

Ishida-kun sighs, "How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?"

The green haired beauty giggles, "You're too cute to be called anything else~"

"Anyway, this is the new student, Inoue Orihime." Ishida-kun tells her, gesturing to me.

"Hello, Hime-chan!" the green haired beauty greets, enthusiastically waving her hands, "Is it alright to call you that?"

I smile, "I don't mind at all."

"I'm Nelliel by the way!" she replies cheerily, holding out a perfectly manicured hand.

I take her hand and shake it, pleased to meet someone as chirpy and excitable as she is, "Nice to meet you, Nelliel-san."

"Oderschvank-san." Ishida-kun corrects.

"It's too complicated! Plus, I'm going to be Jaegerjaquez-san soon anyway so it doesn't matter!" she responded, sticking out her tongue.

Ishida-kun looks at her hands and smiles, "He proposed?"

"Yeah! And about time too!" Nelliel laughs and admires the ring on her finger with a hopelessly romantic look on her face.

"It's gorgeous..." I say. It really is, a shining silver band with a beautiful blue gem, what's not to love? It's simple yet sophisticated.

She nods, "I can't believe Grimm actually has taste!"

"I'm truly pleased for you two but we really need to get going. Can we get Inoue-san's timetable please?" Ishida-kun asks, tapping his fingers on the desk.

"Oh yeah! Here you go, Hime-chan!" Nelliel-san hands me my timetable, the phone rings and she turns away to answer it.

Ishida-kun checks over my timetable silently and swiftly, "You're in the same register class as me." he tells me quietly.

Great! I'm so happy to have someone in my class that I'll actually know! "Can you show me around today?"

"Sure."

"So, why exactly was it you were heading the other direction this morning?" I ask Ishida-kun curiously as we leave register class.

He stays silent before asking me, "Can I see what you have now?"

I hand Ishida-kun my schedule, knowing I probably won't get an answer from him.

"Modern Languages..." he mutters, "I have Science at the opposite end of the school but I'm sure Kurotsuchi-sensei will understand... Or not."

"If you're going to get into trouble for showing me to my next class I don't mind trying to find it myself!" I reply. I really don't want to be the reason for Ishida-kun to get into trouble...

He shakes his head, "No, it's fine."

"If you say so..." I respond, skeptically.

Ishida-kun begins walking forward, "Come on then, we better get going."

I fall into step next to him, "Yep!"

It's lunch time now, Ishida-kun's kindly offered to walk with me to the cafeteria but just one thing bothers me...

"Don't you have friends you need to have lunch with too, Ishida-kun?"

"I wouldn't really call them friends, more like idiots who need to get a life and stop following me around everywhere." he answers cooly.

I chuckle, "How mean."

"It's true. And here they come..." Ishida-kun replies with a roll of his dark blue eyes.

"Ishida!" a tall ginger haired boy calls, "How long were you planning to hide from us?"

"How long are you planning to irritate me?"

Another boy falls to the ground and grabs onto Ishida-kun's leg, "Stop being so cruel, Four Eyes!"

Ishida-kun looks like he's away to shout something at the boy clutching at his leg but then stops, his eyes flash a lighter shade of blue and he looks like his mind's disappeared somewhere.

"Ishida-kun?" I question worriedly, "Are you okay?"

He doesn't respond, instead he just continues to stare out into space.

An extremely tall Mexican boy, taller than the one with ginger hair, steps in and drags away the boy who was previously hung on Ishida-kun's leg, "Ishida does this whenever anyone touches him, we still don't know why and he refuses to tell us."

My thoughts flash back to earlier today when I landed on Ishida-kun and he said "Impossible..." Maybe that has something to do with all of this? Although he didn't seem to blank out that time.

"Ugh..." Ishida-kun says, panting a little bit.

"Do you want to... go to the nurse's office or something?" I ask him, resting a hand on his shoulder unconsciously.

Ishida-kun shakes his head, "I'm fine, I assure you."

"I don't believe you." I counter. He's clearly not fine! I mean, he looks like he'll pass out!

One of his other friends, the one with dark hair, piques up, "How come you can touch Ishida?"

"Maybe he only reacts to guys because he's gay!" the leg clutching boy suggests but the tall ginger haired boy quickly silences him by punching him in the face.

"I don't know..." I say, retreating my hand.

"Anyway, can we just go eat lunch?" the tall ginger haired boy butts in.

Ishida-kun nods his head, "Agreed."

"The rest of the day was pretty uneventful from then onwards. I learnt of all Ishida-kun's friends names though! Kurosaki-kun is the tall ginger haired one, Yasutora-kun is the Mexican boy who is taller than Kurosaki-kun, Kojima-kun is the dark haired one and Asano-kun is the one who was clutching onto Ishida-kun's leg! Boys are so funny, don't you think, Onii-chan?"

The photograph of Onii-chan says nothing, just smiles, like he always does.

"I miss you Onii-chan..."

The photograph still remains quiet, I don't know why I always have hope that Onii-chan will suddenly come back like nothing ever happened...

I feel salty tears stream down my face and I laugh and wipe them away, "I'm so happy I'm crying!"

I don't want Onii-chan to see me cry.

"Hime-chan?" Momo-chan calls tiredly from our shared bedroom, "You should get some sleep..."

"Y-yeah. I will"

I'll call Tatsuki-chan tomorrow. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

**A.N: Thank you for continuing! I really enjoyed writing in Orihime's POV. She's such a lovable character! I would really love it if you could leave a review but if you don't want to I really don't mind. Just you reading it is enough to make me extremely happy. I feel that these chapters are also way too short, at least this one's slightly longer... Oh well~**

**So, in my school Modern Languages is a class that you have with your set class, Science is a class you have with your register class. That's why the scene with Uryū and Orihime having different classes probably wouldn't normally happen but I really wanted to mention Captain Mayuri :3 I'm sorry if this note doesn't make sense to you, if it doesn't make sense just ignore this paragraph altogether.**

**~Sammy-chan17**


	3. The Raven That Could Slow Down Time

**A.N: I'm so sorry about the fact I posted the last chapter twice . It's hopefully all sorted now!**

Chapter III: The Raven Who Could Slow Down Time

~Tuesday~

::Rukia's POV::

I feel like shit... My shoulder aches like hell and I don't even know where I am... Is it a hospital? It seems plausible, the walls are all white and it has an overly clean feel.

I sit up and immediately, the orange haired idiot from yesterday runs to me.

"You okay?" he asks, obviously concerned.

I nod, "Yeah, I'm fine."

A sharp pain arises in my shoulder and I wince.

He notices, "You're not."

"Oh, piss off." I snarl, it's not like he should care. I'm just some stranger after all.

He scowls, "This is my house, Dumbass."

I laugh, "Yeah right! This is a hospital."

"Yeah, this supposed hospital is actually my old man's clinic." he retorts, pushing me back down onto the bed gently.

"Stop touching me!"

He chuckles, "You remind me of someone, you know."

"Who?" I ask, crossing my arms and glaring, "Your girlfriend?"

"Hell no!" he yells, "Man, that's just disturbing..."

"Not your girlfriend then." I remark, snickering slightly, "Boyfriend then?"

He makes a gagging noise.

I burst out laughing, "Your reaction is so damn hilarious!"

"Glad you find mentally scarring me so funny." he says, sighing slightly.

I smirk, "It's my speciality."

"I would never have guessed."

"Yeah, I know."

The boy grinned, "Kurosaki Ichigo." he announced holding out his hand.

I grabbed his hand and shook it, "Kuchiki Rukia."

The pain is back... I clutch my shoulder tightly, groaning.

"Lie back down," Ichigo commands, "You're going to reopen the wound if you don't."

Not wanting to make the pain worse, I heed to his instructions and slowly lower myself back down into a lying position on the bed.

"Try and get some sleep, okay?" he advises trying to be all smart ass doctor like or whatever. It made me wanna throw up on his stupid converse trainers.

I do what he says though just because I'm too tired to argue anyway. I slowly shut my eyelids and soon enough I'm traveling to dreamland. A land which is mainly filled with agonising memories and nightmares, anything but your lovely marshmallows and bunnies like I would prefer.

* * *

::Ichigo's POV::

This girl is strange. I don't understand her at all to be honest. There's so many questions I have to ask her.

Like, "Why did you save my life?"

Rukia splutters, now awake and listening to my questions, "Does there have to be a reason?"

"You risked your life for a total stranger. Are you saying that was just a coincidence, huh?" I argue.

She shakes her head, "Can't I just be a good person who didn't want to see someone murdered right before her eyes?"

"Well, it'd make more sense than practically killing yourself trying to save them."

"What about the time when you saved that little boy from getting run over by a truck?" My youngest sister, Yuzu started saying as she walked in the room with a tray full of food for Rukia.

"Or was that you just not wanting to see the little boy's guts splattered over the road?" completes Karin, Yuzu's slightly older fraternal twin sister. She set down some painkillers next to the glass of water on Rukia's bedside.

Damn them.

"That was completely different."

"No, it wasn't." they answer in complete unison.

Rukia snickers, "Hah, you're a goodie goodie kid saving two shoes, are you?"

I open my mouth to protest but Karin beats me to the chase, "Yep, he definitely is. Managed to land himself straight in A&E at his friend's dad's hospital too."

"I don't really need to explain myself then." says Rukia, with a pleased smirk on her face.

Yuzu giggles and stands on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear, "I like her. She's a real keeper."

I blush, "We're not like that, Yuzu!"

"Like what?" Rukia smiles with a fake innocence.

"So you two aren't dating?" Yuzu pouts.

Rukia's eyes flash with a playfulness I've never come across before, "What made you think that?"

* * *

::Rukia's POV::

Time to have some fun.

"We've been dating for a while."

Thee light brown haired girl gasps, "I knew Brother was going out with someone! I knew it! I knew it!"

The other girl, the one with the dark hair, looks at me knowingly. She's too smart to fool but she replies playing along, "It was pretty obvious."

Ichigo shakes his head, "There's nothing obvious because we aren't even dating!"

I go teary eyed, drama after all was my speciality, "Y-you're breaking up with me?"

The light haired girl smacks Ichigo, "How could you?! You heartless monster! That is no way to treat your girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Ichigo retorts.

The dark haired girl just purses her lips, "That's a whole new low, Ichigo."

Ichigo splutters, "For the last freaking time! She. Is. Not. My. Girlfriend!"

Another man, in his late forties maybe comes bumbling in, "My son isn't gay!?"

Ichigo just slaps himself in the face, "What did I ever do to deserve this?"

I just giggle. Who I assume are Ichigo's family are downright hilarious. It makes me feel almost bitter.

See, my parents passed away when I was about thirteen years old. There was a massive car collision and as they say, the rest is history...

My sister brought me up since then, along with her boyfriend. But recently, she's fallen extremely ill and we don't know what to do. I really don't want to lose someone again.

The light haired girl's chirpy voice brings me back to reality, "Now, Future Mrs. Kurosaki, you should probably ea- Oh! You're crying! What's wrong!?"

I shake my head, "N-no, nothing's wrong."

"Doesn't seem that way." It was Ichigo speaking. He was holding a cigarette and a lighter.

The older man sighed melodramatically, "You'll end up killing yourself, my boy. If not, you'll end up killing someone around you."

Ichigo waves his hand, the one with the lighter, before lighting his cigarette and throwing the lighter on a stray table next to him, "Whatever."

"You should listen to him," the dark haired girl replies picking up the lighter that Ichigo had thrown to the side.

The light haired girl rolls her eyes, "You're no better, Sis."

The dark haired girl smirks, "We all have our guilty pleasures."

"What am I meant to do? No matter what I do you guys don't listen to me..." The older man says plopping down onto the hospital bed next to mine.

Ichigo snorts, "Try being less annoying."

"Brother! Don't be so mean to Daddy!" The light haired girl chastises.

"Eh." Ichigo shrugs, his cigarette between his teeth. He took a deep breath and then exhaled the smoke through his nose.

"Smoking in a hospital is illegal, you know." I tell Ichigo.

He grins, "It's a clinic."

"Same thing." I reply.

"The woman has a point." The older man says, grabbing the cigarette Ichigo was holding before throwing it to the ground and stomping on it.

Ichigo groans, "When did you become the sensible kind of dad?"

The older man ignores Ichigo and holds his hand out to me, I take his hand and he smiles, "Kurosaki Isshin. But you can call me Daddy."

Ichigo sighs, "Please don't."

I giggle, "Okay, Daddy~"

Isshin laughs, "Welcome to the family, my forth daughter!"

"Who's the third daughter?" Karin asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Uryū-chan obviously."

Ichigo bursts out laughing at his father's response.

"Who's this Uryū-chan?" I ask curiously.

"Brother's friend." The light haired girl says before she remembers, "Oh! I've never really formally met you! I'm Kurosaki Yuzu!"

"Kuchiki Rukia." I say with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Kuchiki-san." Yuzu gestures to the dark haired girl, "This is my twin sister, Karin."

Karin gives a small nod, "Hey."

These upcoming weeks I'll be staying in this hospital bed are going to be interesting. I know that for sure.

As Ichigo gave me a small smile I felt like I could maybe fit in with this crazy little family.

**A.N: Ah, hello! I'm so happy with how this story is progressing! I better tell you that my posts will be quite erratic and I'll just be posting when I have time. **

**Huge thanks if you've left a review! Questions you've asked will be answered in due time. Don't be afraid to say what you think but please don't be harsh about it? I'm very inexperienced with writing fanfiction for public viewing.**

**And you might of noticed in the previous chapter Orihime called Sora "Onii-chan" but Yuzu (maybe Karin) calls Ichigo "Brother" in this chapter but I've decided once and for all I'm doing this story with minimal Japanese words. Just using honourifics because I feel they give you an idea of how close people are in their different kinds of relationships. I'll go back and edit things a lot as we go through I think ^_^ **

**~Sammy-chan17**


	4. The Strawberry That Could Stop Time

**A.N: Wow! Thanks for the positive feedback, guys! Uryū's ability seems to be a point of interest and that I'm glad! He's da main man in this fanfiction so of course a lot of it will be focused on him and his power to look into the future. If you have a question just ask and I'll either tell you that it'll be answered in the next chapter or so, or either answer it in the top Author's Note! Okay, now that's sorted. (If you don't want to read this you can just scroll a little~)**

**JustGrace13,**

**_"This is a really interesting idea :) I'm a little curious about Uryuu's ability though, you mentioned that it happens with anyone he touches or makes eye contact with? Wouldn't that make him kind of reclusive? Especially since it seems painful and he can't really tune it out."_**

**Thanks! I don't even know how the idea came to me XD Probably on the toilet... Ideas always seem to annoy people when they use the bathroom... Anyway, onto your query. Uryū's ability happens only when he comes into contact with another person, say nudging or hands or feet touching or something along those lines. I'm sorry if that wasn't clear, the eye contact part is his sort of reclusiveness as you say, he hates having to go through what he does but he doesn't want it to control his life. He's too stubborn to let** **it stop him from doing what he wants to.**

**Cows are cute,**

**_"Why did it take me this long to find this story? I love this a lot. Very interesting story and it's not like anything I've read before. Is it because Orihime has powers that Ishida can't see her future? It must be hell to be in Ishida's position and I think you captured how anyone must feel in that situation. Great story and please continue!"_**

**Maybe since I'm a wallflower, my fanfic are wallflowers too! And thank you very much. And actually yes, you're spot on! Orihime, Uryu and more people as I reveal them all can't use their abilities on each other unless they are given permission. But I'll make sure that I go over more of that soon. Mhmm, to me, Uryū has the most painful ability but it's only because he's not accepting it. Thank you very much again for your positive words.**

**So that's that, I think! If I missed any questions I'll do them in the next chapter. I'm still not confident with writing but everyone's being really kind even though angst is my strong point '._. A lot of people don't take well (me included) to character deaths which I like to write often... Haha... There's no promises in this fic either... I'll try to restrain myself from doing so though**...

Chapter 4: The Strawberry That Could Stop Time

~Friday~

::Ichigo's POV::

It's only been few days since the strange midget girl started staying with us. Her name is even strange... Rukia... Who the heck names their child Rukia? It's not even a name I've ever heard of before. But I guess being a guy called Ichigo is a bit strange too, I know it means 'one who protects' but still... I'm pretty sure it was my old man who came up with the name anyway.

I still can't believe that the strange midget girl saved me though.

I recall something Yuzu said and I can't help but compare the situation to when Rukia saved me...

* * *

_~Two Days Ago~_

_A little kid walks past as I'm putting out my cigarette with my foot. He's playing with his bright red toy plane, he swerves it around in the air making revving sounds. He looks at me and suddenly his plane drops. The plane rolls across the road and the kid gasps, making a run for the toy. I see a beaten up, silver pick up truck turning around the corner. It's Keigo, I know. He was borrowing my car to take a girl out to dinner._

_"Fuck!" I curse, running to the road to protect the little kid. My foot skids and I come close to toppling over but I scuff my knee, ripping a hole in my jeans. I put one hand in front of me, I feel the tarmac of the road scraping my hand but It steadies me so I don't care. My other hand is slapped down onto my thigh and I feel a burning sensation immediately._

_Everything stops. The car, the little kid, the plane. Even a lone crow that was previously flying quickly above me. I decide not to think much of it, assuming the situation to be the work of adrenaline._

_I find that I can still move so I shakily rush over to the boy, keeping my hand on my thigh. I use my free arm to pick the little kid up, I make a move to start running again but I spot his lone red toy plane laying lifeless, the reason I'm stuck in this position. With a sigh, I quickly swipe the toy but as soon as I move my hand from my thigh, everything begins to move again. Keigo spots us now, a panicked look crosses his face._

_I sprint as fast as I can to get to the opposite side. Keigo tries to slow down the car but I can see he's failing. I take a deep breath, dropping to the ground and embracing the little boy as close as I can to my chest. I roll over to the pavement and I can hear a crashing noise and my car alarms_ go off. _Keigo must've driven into something. At least it wasn't this little kid._

_I look down at the child I hold in my arms, he looks back at me. His eyes are brimming with tears, I wipe them away. Grinning at him, I say, "Well. That was exciting, eh?"_

_He smiles a bit but then frowns again, "Mister...! Your face! It's bleeding!"_

_"Is it?" I ask, feeling the right side of my face. It was wet, so I bring my fingers back to look at them. There it was, blood. My fingers were stained with crimson red. He was correct, "I guess it is."_

_"D-does it hurt, Mister?" he questions, guiltily._

_I smile, shaking my head, "Not at all. Guess I'm still pumped from running across the road like that."_

_The boy starts to wail, "I'm so sorry, Mister!"_

_"Shh... No, it's not. It's my idiot friend's fault." I tell him, looking over to Keigo who was hopping around my car, screaming. I was right though, it seems he managed to crash the car into a nearby lamppost, "And anyway! Stop calling me Mister! I'm only seventeen you know!" I add, laughing. It couldn't hurt to try to make the little kid smile._

_He sniffles, "You are? You look older so I was scared of you before... But you're really nice!"_

_I start to get up, lifting the little boy up and then gently placing him down next to me. I ruffle his ash blonde hair, "So, what's your name?"_

_"My name is Nobuo..." he answers, shyly. "What's yours?"_

_I puff my chest out proudly, "It's Ichigo!"_

_Nobuo giggles madly, "But that's a girl's name!"_

_I give a mock gasp, "How dare you? It's a totally manly name for a manly young man!"_

_"Not!" he says, sticking out his tongue._

_A woman with dark blonde hair runs towards us, I'm guessing she's Nobuo's mother. She's very pretty, her wavy hair is tied up neatly at the nape of her neck and her lips are painted a sweet pink colour. She's wearing a beige work uniform with candy pink high heels. She looks just like my mother... I'm filled with a nostalgia as I feel my heart swell._

_She lightly picks Nobuo up, "Stop running off like that! You're going to end up giving me a heart attack! And what did I say about talking to strangers?" she chastises._

_"Not to talk to them... But Ichigo's not a stranger! He saved me!" Nobuo exclaims._

_Nobuo's mum looks at me suspiciously, "What from?" she asks, checking out my bleeding face and torn clothes._

_"From getting hit by that truck!" he points to my car, Keigo still freaking out but now on the phone. Hopefully a car tow because I am not keeping that disgusting thing._

_The mum gasps, turning to look at me, "You did!? I am eternally grateful to you! Thank you so much!"_

_I shake my head, "It's fine. I couldn't let him just get hit, he's very handsome though. And he's got your eyes."_

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" the repeats, her blue eyes shining over with tears as she hesitantly puts her son down.

"Ack! Please don't cry! " I exclaim, searching my pockets for any tissues.

She smiles, dabbing at her eyes with her long fingers. "Here, let me plaster that for you..." she says, gesturing to the cut on my face.

Nobuo's mum reaches into her big, black handbag, it's a bit like one my mum used to have. She pulls out a strip of plasters and rips one off with her teeth. "I always have to carry these around. You never know when you'll need one with a little boy as energetic as Nobuo!"

She gently places it over the scratch I can now tell is located above my eyebrow. "It's not the best," she begins, "But it'll do until you can properly disinfect that nasty thing."

_"Thank you very much, Ma'am." I say, smiling._

_She smiles back, "No. Thank you."_

_I chuckle and then realise I still have Nobuo's toy plane, "Oh! Here!" I hand the toy to Nobuo and he takes it, brightly grinning._

_"Thank you!" he cries, hugging my legs tightly._

_Nobuo's mum takes Nobuo's smaller hand in her own, "We better get going, thank you again!"_

_I wave as the two walk off. I dizzily put my hand to my head and Keigo rushes over. That was the last thing I remembered before it all went pitch black and I had woken up in Ishida's old man's hospital because my dad was away at a convention for the day._

* * *

I still don't know what that sensation was. Even though I keep telling myself it was adrenaline, I can't shake the idea of it being something completely different. And the tattoo that appeared on my leg that night when I was having a shower, what was that? The intricate design left me to afraid to touch it, as if it would become damaged. It was on my right thigh too. It couldn't just be a coincidence could it? Was that tattoo the reason time seemed to stop?

I yawn widely, too tired to carry on with my thoughts.

* * *

~Thursday~

It's lunchtime, we're all sitting out on the school's rooftop. And by we I'm meaning: Chad, Ishida, Keigo, Mizuiro, the new girl to our small gang - Inoue and lastly, yours truly. And yeah, Keigo's in the middle of telling some weird story to Orihime.

"I saw her and started feeling sick! I said 'My name is Pogo, you wanna jump on my stick?!' I rolled up my words and asked if I can pokerface! She didn't see the funny side and sprayed my face with mace..." tells Keigo, making all sort of gestures with his hands.

Inoue laughs, "That first pick up line was funny though!"

"My name is Pogo, wanna jump on my stick?" Keigo asks Inoue, giant grin plastered on his face. Maybe mace if he carries on.

Ishida growls, "Shut it, Asano."

"Is Four Eyes jealous?~" Keigo teases, giggling like a little schoolgirl.

Ishida reddens, "Of course not. You're just being impolite. You shouldn't talk to a lady like a sex object."

"If anyone's the object, it's me. 'Cause you know, 'pogo stick.'" explains Keigo.

"You don't need to explain! I get it already, dumbass!" Ishida rages, clearly becoming irritated by our annoying old classmate. At least with the new school year, we're no longer in the same class.

"Ahah! Guys are so cute and funny!" Inoue giggles, pointing at Ishida and Keigo.

"I'm the cute one and he's the funny in a weird way one, right?" Keigo asks, playing with a lock of Inoue's auburn hair.

Ishida gives a deadly glare. I know if Ishida didn't get so strange after being touched, he would probably rip Keigo's throat out. It's a bit more than obvious he has a 'slight' crush on Inoue.

Chad lifts Keigo up effortlessly and walks over to the edge of the rooftop. He lifts Keigo over the wall acting as a barrier so that the annoying teen is left dangling in the air, Chad being his human lifesaver. Keigo lets out a girly scream and Inoue can't help but roll over on the ground, laughing her head off. Mizuiro chuckles as he texts one of his many girlfriends and even Ishida is stifling a sound of amusement. I grin a bit.

Keigo's madly thrashing about now and I hear a group of girls on the ground gasp.

Inoue rushes to the side of the rooftop and shouts to the girls, "Don't worry! Yasutora-san never drops things! Even if Asano-kun kinda deserves it!"

Keigo whimpers, "My beautiful princess! How could you say that?"

Inoue giggles, winking at Keigo, "I'm mean when I want to be."

"Ooh! Secret personality! Me likey!" Keigo says, making a 'Rawr!' sound.

"Too bad you're not getting." Ishida retorts, wrapping his arms protectively around Inoue.

Inoue blushes, "Um... Ishida-kun?"

Ishida realises what he's doing and flinches back, "O-oh!"

Scarlet trickles up his neck, "Sorry..." Ishida apologises, moving away from Inoue a bit to sit elsewhere.

"It's okay!" Inoue chirpily replies, smiling innocently.

Ishida smiles back but keeps moving away, little by little until he bumps back into me. He winces, closing his eyes; waiting for something, it seems.

It doesn't look like it came and Ishida opens his eyes, confused. "What the hell?" he says to himself.

"Watch where you're going." I tell him, shoving him to the side. I was annoyed, but it was about something that happened this morning so really, I should probably get over it.

* * *

_~This Morning~_

_Rukia tosses and turns in her sleep, groaning. She's sweating profusely so I dab her forehead with a damp flannel._

_"Hisana..." she whispers, gripping the bed sheets for dear life._

_A lone tear runs down her cheek. I wipe it away, biting my lip. She looks paler than normal and I can't bear to see the strong and stubborn girl I've already become so accustomed to, fall to pieces in front of my eyes._

_She lets go of the sheets, saying a boy's name now, "Byakuya..."_

_Who the hell is Byakuya? Her boyfriend? If so, shouldn't he be the one to be bloody looking after her? Spending every moment with her? Why doesn't he care? He needs to be the one kneeling next to Rukia and supporting her when she's obviously struggling!_

_"I love you..." she whimpers and I lose it. I throw the flannel to the floor and stomp off. I shouldn't care but for whatever reason, I do._

* * *

"Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue curiously enquires, waving her hand in front of my face.

"Huh?" I say, blinking a few times.

Ishida pushes his glasses up his nose. Such a smart ass... "You weren't paying attention. Kojima was saying something."

"Ah! Sorry, go on." I tell Mizuiro, turning to face him.

Mizuiro smiles, "It's okay. I was just talking about my girlfriend, she's having a party tomorrow and she wanted to know if any of my friends wanted to come. You, and everyone else who I've already asked of course, are welcome. If you want to I'll text you her address."

I nod, "Yeah, I'll talk to my dad about it." I won't. He'll just say yes anyways, so no big deal. And not asking him wouldn't give him a chance to start bitching about everything wrong with me. I don't need any fucking therapy, for God's sake... "But I'll probably be allowed. Oh, and I have a friend that's currently staying with me. If she feels a bit better tomorrow, would she be allowed to tag along?"

Keigo, now sitting safely on the rooftop wolf whistles, "She? Staying with you? Little Ichy Boy is growing up!"

I glare at him, "She's staying at the clinic because she was injured. We only met on Tuesday, idiot."

Keigo grins, "And you're already friends? Get in there, Ichigo!"

Ishida is concentrating hard. He rests his chin on his hand, frowning. Of course, I question, "What's up, Glasses?"

"Nn? Oh... Nothing..." Ishida says, obviously hiding something.

Inoue gently squeezes Ishida's hand, they've already become close and it's only her first week here. "Tell me about it later, okay?" I hear her whisper softly.

He shakes his head, "No, no. It's okay, Inoue-san. It's nothing big."

The bell rings, a shrill scream that I can't stand. I'll confront Ishida later, for now I better focus on getting to class.

**A.N: Whee! Writing a full** **chapter in Ichigo's POV is fun! I love portraying him in this fic because while he's all fun and games on the outside he's really going through some tough shit but to him, it's his cross to bear and no one else's. I can't wait to get to the chapters where I really flesh him out and you guys get to learn about his smoking habit and maybe one he hides underneath his sleeves. Hint hint.**


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